An exhibition of works by 39 artists from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts was opened on February 12 in Debrecen, in the shop window at 28 / c Piac Street, as part of the Chinese Spring Festival. The exhibition was co-organized by the University’s Confucius Institute, Tianjin Foreign Studies University and the city.
The New Year in China traditionally begins with the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, which is the most important national, intangible cultural heritage with a long history. The festival begins on the first day of the first lunar month and lasts until its fifteenth day, the so-called Lantern Festival. Thus, it is no coincidence that the scenery of the shop window exhibition depicts the latter.
– The Confucius Institute of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Debrecen was established not only to teach Chinese, but also to acquaint those interested with Chinese culture. One of the means of this is the exhibition organized in a special environment, which now, with the help of special works of art, gives not only university citizens but also the general public the opportunity to get to know a small segment of a distant culture, said Róbert Keményfi, Dean of the Faculty of Arts.
The Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts is one of nine prestigious art schools in China, an important center of art, education and research in the northern region. The virtual exhibition, which presents the works of 39 artists, promotes artistic and cultural dialogue between the two countries, as well as friendly cooperation between the cities of Tianjin and Debrecen.
– We have reached a new chapter in the cooperation launched last year, thanks to which important elements of Chinese culture can now appear in Debrecen. China’s presence in our city is growing stronger, not only in the economy but also in education and culture. Culture is a great tool for mediating between two nations and helping to get to know each other, said István Puskás, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen for Culture.
The opening ceremony was continued by Pál Csontos, the Hungarian director of the Confucius Institute at BTK, emphasizing in his speech that the Lunar New Year is commemorated by Chinese communities around the world.
– In Debrecen, the University and the Institute of the Faculty of Arts will contribute to the celebration with this exhibition,” the director emphasized in his English-language greeting.
– On the farewell of last year and the arrival of the New Year, we brought the Chinese Spring to Debrecen with the help of traditional and reinterpreted works of art, which fully reflect the creativity of Chinese contemporary artists in their diversity. I am convinced that this exhibition will also promote cultural and artistic cooperation between the two countries, stressed Cui Xianjun, Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at BTK.
The series of images running on the monitor window of the exhibition illustrates the survival of more than a thousand years of Chinese landscape painting tradition. The work with a wide variety of styles and techniques makes contemporary Chinese art diverse and vibrant: calligraphic ink and watercolor painters, practitioners of realistic oil painting, and experimental media artists live side by side and interact.
The Lunar New Year exhibition organized by the Confucius Institute, which can be seen in the shop window at 28 / c Piac Street until February 26, presents the diversity of different trends living side by side, the peaceful coexistence of East and West, old and new.
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